Audience Research and Audience Profile:

I have been looking at the website UK Tribes to help me come to a conclusion on what type of market I would like to sell my magazine to. Because my magazine is based on the genre of indie and alternative, I need a group of people that will represent my genre is a clear way. I want people who buy it to know a lot about what I'm trying to say and also be quite cultural and spiritual.
After looking at UK Tribes I have come to the conclusion that I mainly want to sell my magazine to 'INDIE SCENESTERS' this is because they are keen to find the newest music and are completely devoted to it. Also on UK Tribes it says that they like guitar music (such as The Vaccines) and also indie music, as it says it in their name. On the website it defined them as this: 

"Indie Scenesters are dedicated to finding the newest music, exploring all avenues to get there – online, print, record shops, club nights and word of mouth. Staying ahead of the curve is a must, but it’s borne out of a genuine love for music – and this is what separates them from those more fickle dabblers and dilettantes, the Hipsters. For Indie Scenesters, there’s nothing better than discovering new artists and spreading the love."

And this is what I want, people staying ahead of the curve and discovering new talent where nobody else is really looking for it. However whilst still exploring the site, I found another tribe that would fit into my bracket and I'm keen to sell my magazine to both of these groups. The next group I found was 'YOUNG ALTS', again the clue is in the name as to what this tribe likes in terms of music genre; on UK Tribes it defined them as this:

"Young Alts are the Tribe for young people who ‘want out’ of the mainstream. It’s an entry-level Tribe, with equal split between the sexes, and members share an inquisitiveness for everything Alternative – from Grunge to Hardcore. Experimenting with art, music and fashion unites the Young Alts, who are dipping in and out of scenes like there’s no tomorrow. Tribe members are likely to gravitate towards Leading Edge Tribes once they’ve figured out what they’re most interested in, but for the time being Young Alts are happy to get stuck into as much media as they can – from reading Penguin Classics on Kindle, streaming ‘Girls’ on Netflix (even the boys) and checking out the latest music on Spotify. Skater, Emo and Hipster trends are most commonly tried and tested by the Young Alts, it’s about keeping an open mind."

This is just a rough estimate on what my target audience would be like, however in saying that people from all types of preferred music taste can read my magazine. Although I am basing my general idea on these two groups so that I am able to focus entirely on what type of genre I am doing. 

Audience Profile:

Name: Florence Dawson

Age: 19

Occupation: Student - Studying English Literature in London however despite the work load she still has time to go to gigs and follow her passion for music

Interests: Fashion, Playing the Guitar and also being in a band which has a regular spot at a local pub - so she is keen to be as involved as she can be in the world of music and that means reading as many music magazines as possible.

Favourite Bands/Artists: Miles Kane, Slow Club and Tame Impala

Favourite Magazines to Read: Clash, i-D and Wire magazine

She is always on the lookout for new magazine that will give her inspiration for her own band, however she would like something a bit different as well; that means if she were to aid in my making of the magazine then she would like a good all round selection of music and not to be too specific with that either. I need to create a certain style with my magazine that will set it out from the rest so that people like her will be buying it on a monthly basis.

Research for Photographers and Graphic designers.

Photographers:

Rankin:

"Rankin made his name in publishing, founding the seminal monthly magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1992. It provided a platform for innovation for emerging stylists, designers, photographers and writers. The magazine went on to forge a distinctive mark in the arts and publishing spheres, and developed a cult status forming and moulding trends, and bringing some of the brightest lights in fashion to the foreground."

I have been inspired greatly by Rankin, not only because I have been a fan of his work for quite a while now but I just really appreciate the fact of how well he uses the camera. He treats it as though it were an extension of his body and this is something that I would really love to replicate in my magazine. I'm probably not going to use his shadowy lighting technique that quite a lot of his photographs that I found of his work looked like. I more want to focus on his ability and the sheer dedication of work that he seems to produce all the time. He is also one of the co-founders of Dazed and Confused which is just a plus side in my opinion.

Ellen Von Unwerth:

"Ellen von Unwerth (born 1954 in Frankfurt, Germany) is a photographer and director, specializing in erotic femininity. She worked as a fashion model for ten years herself before moving behind the camera, and now makes fashion, editorial, and advertising photographs."

I am incredibly inspired yet again by the work of Ellen Von Unwerth, this is because I find the monotone colours to look very simplistic and classy. This is something that I would like to reflect in my own photography and I might actually try and incorporate monotone into it. This I can research when doing the test shots for my magazine and hopefully if it is something that turns out ok then I might incorporate that into my magazine somehow. I also really appreciate the blurry softness that she manages to achieve on her pictures and I think that style of photography is original and ethereal, it is definitely something I am going to experiment with.

Craig McDean:

"Craig McDean is a photographer and filmmaker who is renowned for his striking fashion imagery and portraiture. Having discovered photography by taking pictures of his rocker friends in the North of England, McDean moved to London, where he assisted before striking out on his own with assignments for i-D and The Face."

For me, Craig McDean's work is exactly the type of work I would like to produce when it comes to taking my own photography. I love the softness and simplicity of what the camera is able to achieve, also I love how all of subjects in his work seem to have a mattified dewiness to their skin and this is something that I hope to do with my models because I want that type of glisten that these subjects seem to have. Also the backgrounds that McDean uses, such as the muted white backgrounds and the grey backgrounds, which I think look more unique than the traditional sold white. I am continuing to be inspired by McDean's work and hopefully by the time I come to take my photos, I will be able to replicate some examples of his work. 

Graphic Designers:

David Carson:

"David Carson (born September 8, 1954) is an American graphic designer, art director and surfer. He is best known for his innovative magazine design, and use of experimental typography. He was the art director for the magazine Ray Gun, in which he employed much of the typographic and layout style for which he is known. In particular, his widely imitated aesthetic defined the so-called "grunge typography" era."

I have been inspired by the work of David Carson as well, this is because I feel as though his work is something I want to emulate in my magazine. His typography skills and also the way he could piece pictures and colours together is something I wish to hopefully incorporate into my work. I also think his colour palette is one I would want to take on board with me as well because I like the way the colours mould together to create this blend of swirls. Also I love the design of the Ray Gun magazine, because even though the design is something I definitely want to take on board, it is also an alternative music magazine which means that I can use his original idea and hopefully create something just as good.

Neville Brody:

"Neville Brody is perhaps the best known graphic designer of his generation. He studied graphic design at the London College of Printing and first made his way into the public eye through his record cover designs and his involvement in the British independent music scene in the early 1980s."

I have been inspired aswell by Brody's work, he has been able to create works of graphic design that are innovative and quirky. Whilst still being modern and classic. I would say what inspires me the most would be The Guardian work that he did, even though this is by no means a music magazine I am still inspired by the design and the fonts also that were used. I would take none of these elements into my magazine however I have had numerous ideas just by seeing this work of what I would like to achieve in my own. The almost primary based colour palettes add something extra as well to Brody's work and this dedication to using the same colour palettes pretty much all throughout his work inspire me to really stay faithful to my colour palette and use that all throughout my magazine.